Houthi leader: Yemenis will resist Saudi aggression

SHAFAQNA -Â Yemenâ€™s Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the Shiâ€™ite Houthi movement, gave his first televised speech since the beginning of the Saudi-led war against him, saying that the group will continue to resist Saudi aggression.

At the same time, al-Houthi said that the offers for negotiation of a political settlement to the conflict remain on the table, and that Houthi delegates went to the â€œpeace talksâ€ in Oman this weekend, even though pro-Saudi aggressors already ruled out taking part in it.

This has been a recurring problem with attempts to start peace talks, as the Saudi Wahhabis have maintained that any talks be conditional on the Houthis first disarming and surrendering the entire country to their side. The one round of talks the pro-Saudi faction even attended, the only time the two sides were in the same room was when the pro-Saudi delegates attacked a press conference by the Houthis.

Houthi did not address the surrender demand, but did say there would be a public celebration Monday to commemorate the one year anniversary of Ansarullah fighters forces capturing the capital city.Â

Abdel-Malek also accused Saudi Arabia of barring most Yemeni pilgrims from traveling to the kingdom to perform the annual haj pilgrimage, which starts this week.

According to a report by theÂ nongovernmental organization (NGO), which was published on Saturday, 6,091 Yemenis have lost their lives in the Saudi airstrikes and a total of 13,552 people have been injured.

There are 3,006 women and children among the dead. The report also says as many as 2,997 women and children have been wounded.

In retaliation for the Saudi airstrikes, the Yemeni army, backed by popular committees, targeted a number of Saudi military bases in the border region, inflicting heavy losses on them.

Riyadh launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 â€“ without a UN mandate â€“ in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.